Donna's Investigation
by GailTheFish
Summary: Donna develops an idea about CJ that quickly becomes the subject of her own little investigation. I suck at summaries okay?
1. Ideas Formulate

**I don't know where this idea came from, but here we have it.**

CJ was headed back to her office after a successful 5pm briefing. Carol was muttering alongside her, flicking through a series of transcript notes to be typed up. She had a killer headache, nothing out of the ordinary, and all she wanted was to relax, the day taking its toll. Heading into her office, a wave of dizziness suddenly overcame her and the room became black as her knees gave way.

"CJ you have Sam on line - oh my god, CJ!"

Carol entered the office to find CJ passed out on the floor. She rushed back to her phone, "she'll have to get back to you."

She dialled the intercom again. "Could I get the First Lady please?"

"Hello ma'am, can you come to CJ's office please. She's passed out and I'm worried. Yes. Thank you ma'am."

Abbey Bartlet came striding towards Carol. "What happened?"

"She had her briefing, she did great. We came back and I was working until Sam called, and I went to tell her, but she was just passed out there."

"Okay thank you for calling dear. Get her some water and I'll see to her."

CJ was now awake albeit groggy and curled up on her floor; she attempted to rise as she saw the First Lady enter her office.

"Stay there, dear. Can you get onto the couch?" the First Lady offered her hand to help CJ shift herself. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." CJ sighed.

"Well you're probably suffering from exhaustion, but I sent Carol for water. Thank you dear." Abbey smiled at Carol as she passed a cup of water over to CJ, who sipped slowly.

"Let me know if you need anything." Carol walked out, leaving CJ and Abbey alone.

"When did you last eat, CJ?" Dr Bartlet enquired.

"I haven't eaten yet, I was in a rush this morning and I was in a meeting over lunch."

"I'll have Carol get you a bagel." She stepped outside to Carol, leaving CJ fiddling with her hands on the couch.

"Carol, I'm going to give CJ a check-up. But could you get her a bagel from the mess and also, fetch Donna on your way back here."

"Yes, ma'am." Carol nodded and headed off.

The First Lady went back to CJ and gave her a quick check up.

"Definitely exhaustion. I'm going to have Donna take you home and Carol can handle the rest of your day. I'll inform Jed so you have nothing to worry about. You're going to rest and get plenty of sleep, and make sure you eat. Then hopefully by tomorrow you'll be good as new, but if you feel worse, give me a call okay?"

Carol entered the office, Donna in tow. "Here's your bagel, CJ."

"Are you okay, CJ?" Donna asked, worried

"Thanks Carol. Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine." CJ nodded.

"Donna dear, could you take CJ home please? Carol, I'm sure I can trust you to handle her schedule, her deputy can do any other briefings."

Both women nodded and Carol walked out to her desk. Donna remained and fetched CJ's coat and briefcase. "Anything else you need, CJ?" CJ shook her head and stood up.

"Thank you ma'am," she smiled at the First Lady and followed Donna out of the door.

"As long as you're okay sweetie" Abbey smiled and headed out herself.

"Carol, if anyone asks I left early to catch up okay?" CJ asked as they passed Carol's desk.

"Okay, call me if need be, CJ." Carol called back as they left.

* * *

"Here we are." CJ said as Donna drove up to her apartment. "Thanks Donna."

"I'll come up, settle you in." Donna smiled, her caring side kicking in.

"Okay." The women headed up to CJ's apartment, and CJ let them in.

"Do you want me to get anything before I leave?" Donna asked as CJ dropped her briefcase on the couch and hung up her coat. Donna observed the apartment and noticed it was covered with papers and files of various colours and sizes, scattered across the living area and even the kitchen table.

"No I'm fine thanks Donna, thank you for bringing me. You better head back; I imagine Josh will be beside himself without you." CJ grinned from the bedroom door.

"Yeah he will, I better go. Bye CJ, feel better soon!" she left and CJ locked the door before heading back into the bedroom and drifting into sleep.

Donna in the meantime drove back to the White House.

'Wow, CJ had a messy apartment.' She thought to herself 'Papers strewn everywhere, so crazy. But no, it's not my place to say. She's a busy career woman; God knows I barely have time to clean. How come there was so much?'

* * *

Donna walked into the West Wing, heading back to Josh's office.

"Hey Donna, CJ okay?" Josh called out.

"Yeah, she said she's feeling better now." Donna responded, shuffling papers on her desk.

"Good, can you get me my Berryhill meeting notes for tomorrow?" he shouted.

"Yeah Josh, sure." She paused for a moment. "Josh?"

"Yeah?" he popped his head around the office door.

"Is CJ seeing anyone?" she pondered.

"You interested?" he smirked playfully.

"Shut up Josh." Donna snapped. "No, I was just asking."

"We're not two cheerleaders in homeroom, Donna. I don't know the ins and outs of CJ's love life. Surely as a fellow gal, you'd know the scoop before me?" he replied.

"Jeez Josh I was only wondering." She muttered.

"Any reason?" he asked, seemingly more interested now.

"It's silly, never mind." She dismissed the thoughts that were in her head.

"Go on, enlighten me." He sat on her desk expectedly.

Donna sighed and began rambling. "She had so much stuff at her place, I don't know. I thought you were messy but it was weird, so unlike CJ. I know I shouldn't pry."

"And you think this means she's seeing someone? She's probably just fed up of all those briefings and threw all her notes about in desperation or something." He chuckled.

"Not quite Josh, but yeah it's nothing." Donna went back to work, thoughts on the matter not quite ceasing.

* * *

A few hours later, Toby made his way through the West Wing, bumping into Josh.

"Oh hey Toby, how was it? Are they on board?" He enquired regarding Toby's attempt to sway several hesitant House Democrats into supporting the administration's latest Health Reform bill.

"We got all but Richardson but I think he's hiding something under his belt. I'm gonna have Ginger set me up another meeting with his office for tomorrow." Toby responded.

"Great, man. Let me know if you need any help with him." Josh patted him on the back and headed back into his office.

Toby made his way through the Communications bullpen and into his own office, collapsing into his chair.

"Ginger!" he yelled, his assistant quickly coming to the door.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Get CJ on the phone would ya?" he asked.

"She left already." Ginger told him, surprised at the softer than usual tone Toby had used.

"What? Okay. Do I have anything else today?" he enquired.

"No that's about it." Ginger called, having gone to check his schedule at her desk.

"I'm gonna take off then. Get Sam to call me if he needs me." Toby packed up his stuff and headed out, leaving Ginger in shock at the fact her boss was leaving before midnight for once.

* * *

"CJ, I'm home." Toby called out through their apartment. After dumping his stuff, he walked into the bedroom to find CJ curled up on the bed.

"Hey, why'd you leave early?" he asked, taking off his jacket and tie. "And I drove you this morning, how'd you get back?"

She barely stirred. "Donna drove me."

"Why?" he wondered.

"She was forced to." CJ sighed.

"By whom?" Toby's tone became more inquisitive.

"The First Lady." She almost whispered.

"Why, CJ?" he was worried now.

"I passed out." She mumbled.

"What?!"

"It's nothing." She shrugged.

"You could've called me!" he said, exasperated.

"Oh yeah, drag you back from your big meetings on the hill?" she replied, voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Yes." He said simply.

"I was fine, Toby." She countered.

"You passed out!" he cried.

"Toby, I'm fine! Donna brought me home and I've been sleeping. I'm fine." She assured him.

"You know how I worry about you." He sat down beside her, pulling her into his arms.

"Yes Tobus, but I'm fine." She kissed him before laying her head on his chest, dozing back into sleep almost instantaneously.

* * *

_The next day_

"Ginger!" Toby bellowed from his office.

"Yeah?" she popped her head around his door.

"Have you seen my preposterous, complicated blue file for the G8 preparations?" he sighed.

"Not on your desk?" he shook his head. "I'll have a look out here."

"Thanks, Ginger." He nodded.

"Hey Sam!" Ginger called as Sam walked into the bullpen. "Have you seen Toby's G8 folder?"

"The extravagant one right? I chose it myself you know. Toby has blue, I have red, Josh has green and CJ has purple." He beamed proudly.

Ginger rolled her eyes. "Cute, Sam. But have you seen it?"

"Nah sorry." He said apologetically and headed towards his office.

Donna walked by, causing Ginger to jump.

"Oh, hey Donna. You know the G8 files? You haven't seen Toby's blue one by any chance have you? He lost it and no-one can find it around." She asked.

"No, sorry Ginger. I've had enough hassle trying to keep Josh from destroying his in frustration. Where did Sam even find them?! Blue did you say?" Donna replied, the last part added quickly as she caught her breath slightly.

"God knows, you know what Sam's like." Ginger chuckled. "Thanks anyway, let me know if you hear anything." She called as Donna walked off. Ginger headed back into Toby's office.

"Hey Toby, I've asked about and no-one's seen it."

Toby had a mini epiphany. "Shoot! I think it's at home." He observed Ginger's face, worrying she'd be sent to fetch it. "I'll go back for it at lunch, thanks Ginger."

"No bother, boss." She shut the door on her way out.

* * *

_Meanwhile in Josh's office_

Donna returned from the bullpen. "Hey Josh, seen Toby's G8 folder?"

"Nah. I don't know how he could lose it though, they're the most ridiculous folders ever." He replied.

"Yeah," Donna smiled. "Now that I think about it though, I do recall seeing a blue one at some point. Oh where was it? I ought to have mentioned that to Ginger." She trailed off.

"Okay I've lost interest now." He said, turning to his computer.

Donna thought hard to herself as she walked out to her desk and suddenly it hit her.

"Yesterday, CJ's messy apartment, coffee table covered in work, blue folder balanced at the top of the pile. Oh my God." Donna was muttering under her breath, struggling to hide her shock at what she seemed to have worked out.

"Josh." She declared, walking back into his office.

"Yeah?" he didn't look up.

"Oh, nothing." She said quickly, it seemed she couldn't quite bring herself to reveal what she thought she had uncovered yet.

* * *

After a couple of meetings that morning, Toby headed towards CJ's office.

"Hey, you." He said as he walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Oh, hey." She looked up before returning to reading her report

"You still feel okay? Not gonna pass out like yesterday?" he asked, sitting on a chair in front of her desk.

"I'm good." She smiled back.

"I left my G8 folder at home, I'm going back for it at lunch. Anything you need?" he asked her.

"No thanks. Good luck finding it though, the apartment's resembled a bomb site recently." She chuckled.

He snorted in response. "I think I left it out on the coffee table the other day, should be still there."

"Yeah. Oh, my car's free from the shop tonight, so can you drop me off there later? I'll get takeout, meet you at home?" the report was now abandoned.

"Sure" Toby smiled. "I'll get out of your hair now." He turned to leave.

"C'mere, kiss me first." CJ teased.

Toby turned back and stepped closer to her. "Carol could walk in."

"Oh calm down, I won't jump you." She grinned.

"Fine." He sighed in defeat, albeit liking the sound of that, and closed the space between them, kissing her deeply.

"See? No harm." She winked as they pulled away.

"Yes but I'll get too used to this here, and not that I don't like kissing you every chance I get –" CJ cut him off with another quick kiss.

"I know, Pokey. We'll get ourselves caught." She kissed him again. "Now off you go, see you later."

"Yeah." Toby walked out, waving his hand airily in his typical manner.

"Oh hey, Donna." He muttered, bumping into Josh's assistant.

"Hey Toby, where you headed?" she wondered, noticing his coat was on.

"Home, left my G8 folder." He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Yeah I heard. Well see ya." She waved and walked off, a thought suddenly occurring to her.

"Josh! I'm heading out for lunch, you want anything?" Donna shouted into his office, grabbing her purse.

"Nah I'm going to the mess with Sam." He hollered back.

"Okay bye!" she called. Her pace quickened as she left the White House and went to find her car.

"Now let's go and suss out Toby." She mused out loud as she got into her car, double checking her recollection of the route to CJ's - and well, as she hoped to soon discover - Toby's.

* * *

Donna slowly drove the route CJ had instructed the previous day, not wanting to make herself obvious as a stalker should Toby notice her car the whole way.

As she turned onto CJ's street, Donna decided to park a few houses down as her designated spot of observation.

She took out the sandwich she hadn't had time to eat at breakfast and cringed at what felt like a very creepy thing she was doing.

She saw Toby's car parked outside the apartment and figured he'd already gone inside, the driver's side being empty.

A few minutes had passed when Toby came out of the apartment, blue folder in tow. Locking the door behind him, he was heading back to his car.

"Yes!" Donna yelped gleefully.

Toby's car started up and began driving in the other direction, leaving Donna thankful she didn't have to duck and hide her nosy self.

"Now I need some more evidence." She said to herself as she drove back, deciding to pull into a bakery a few blocks from the White House since the sandwich hadn't really filled her up.

Donna walked into the bakery, a place she had frequented many times before. Stepping in the queue she was pleasantly surprised to find the subject of her investigation further along the line.

"Hey Toby." She smiled, waving slightly.

"Hi" He waved back. "Grabbing lunch?"

"Yeah, sandwich didn't quite do it today. You?"

"Pie. These guys do the best pecan pie." Toby gestured to the counter as he placed his order.

"Two pieces?" she mused, noticing his order.

"Sees me through the day." He responded quickly.

"I see. Well see you back at work." Donna replied as Toby walked out the store.

"Yeah. See ya, Donna." He nodded, hands occupied with two bags.

Donna ordered a bagel and cupcake for herself and a muffin for Josh who would no doubt complain of hunger at some point around 3, and drove back to the White House.

As soon as she was back in the West Wing, she made a point to walk by CJ's office. As expected, CJ was tucking into a large slice of pecan pie. She also noticed Toby sitting on the couch in her office; he had completely finished his pie, the box discarded beside him.

'This is interesting.' Donna thought en route back to Josh's office, grinning as she placed the muffin on his desk.


	2. The Boys Get Involved

**I'm not sure how many chapters this will take, but stick with me!**

Donna spent the rest of the day thinking over her pieces of evidence. They lived together, obviously the big one, and she had him buying her pie, which was just pretty cute. She knew Josh wouldn't believe her if she brought up any of her ideas, not after dismissing the CJ notion yesterday. With that on her mind, she decided to go to the next best thing and someone probably better with discretion: Sam.

"Hey, Sam." She knocked on Sam's opened office door.

He looked up and smiled. "Oh, hey Donna. Does Josh want something?"

"No, no." she shook her head and walked in. "Actually, I want to ask you something."

"Yeah? Go ahead." He gestured for her to sit down and she sat on one of his guest chairs, crossing her legs before beginning.

"Do you know if Toby's seeing anyone?" she quirked her lips and tilted her head, causing Sam's eyes to widen.

"Do you want to date Toby?!" he gasped and Donna really began to regret this decision. Why did everyone have to assume she was interested in someone? This could be a lengthy enquiry otherwise.

"No! God no." she assured him and he calmed down. "I'm just wondering if you'd know if he was dating."

"I don't know. I always assumed he hadn't dated since the divorce. Although there have been a few times when I've seen him looking you know, happy, and happy and Toby aren't usually a combination." Sam mused, leaning back in his chair.

"How do you mean?" Donna tried to remain nonchalant.

"Smiling, holding off on yelling at me. Not for long though, but you know, small signs." The look on Sam's face made her think he could finally be working something out.

"Maybe he has been seeing someone?" she responded airily.

"Plus I've overheard him on the phone a couple of times sounding cheerful. I just dismissed it, but I think you're onto something here." He smiled knowingly.

Donna decided she didn't want to reveal her information to Sam, not just yet. Maybe these clues would help him figure it out on his own. She did however decide to follow up with something slightly more blatant.

"I've been thinking the same about CJ." She told him.

"CJ? You're not saying what I think you're saying?" Sam's voice grew in shock.

"I don't know. I mean obviously CJ's a lot happier generally than Toby, but as a woman I can spot the signs. Plus with all those exchanged glances they have and the casual flirting, I thought it was a possibility." Donna had Sam right where she wanted, as he nodded intently along with her words.

"Donna, you're brilliant you know that? They would make a great couple! Do you think we could suss them out? Have you told Josh anything?" he sat up, a serious look forming on his face.

"He wouldn't believe me if I tried, or he'd exaggerate things." She replied, knowing Sam understood Josh's ways.

"Yeah. Let's keep it between us for now then? I'll try figuring out Toby and you work on CJ." He smiled.

"Okay. Thanks, Sam." Donna got up to leave, satisfied with their conversation.

"See ya." Sam called as she headed out into the bullpen.

She glanced into Toby's office to find him on the phone, but the look on his face and the aggravation in his voice told her he wasn't chatting with CJ. Continuing onwards, she made her way back to her desk and back to work.

* * *

_The next day: _

Donna hadn't really thought much about the whole CJ and Toby situation since her conversation with Sam; there hadn't been anything to suggest further signs of them exposing their relationship somehow.

She was working on some research for Josh when Carol walked by her desk, shocking Donna out of her cultivated work zone.

"Hi, Donna." Carol beamed and Donna stopped typing to face her.

"Hey, Carol. What's up?"

"Has Josh got 15 minutes anytime soon? CJ has some questions for the G8 briefing she needs to go over with him."

"He's in with a couple of Congressmen at 3 but anytime before then should be fine." she smiled.

"Okay, I'll have her come by about 1:30." Carol turned and headed back to CJ's office.

'Would Carol know about CJ and Toby?' Donna thought to herself as she began typing again. She wondered what the best way to approach Carol would be, but she knew Carol's loyalty to CJ was incredibly strong and it was possible that she'd mention a snooping Donna to her boss. She shrugged off the possibility of sharing her suspicions with Carol and kept working.

Suddenly, she remembered to inform Josh of CJ's meeting.

"Josh!" She opened the door into his office.

"Donna." he replied, not looking up from his desk.

"You have a meeting with CJ at 1:30, she's coming to you." she told him, peering across his office.

"Maybe I can tell her about your little crush." he teased, meeting her eyes.

"No!" she said, a little too forcefully; Josh appeared taken aback.

"Whoa, calm down Donnatella. Your secret's safe with me." he winked and Donna tried to calm her blush.

"Joshua, I swear to god..." she growled, walking out and shutting the door before he could make anymore comments.

All she needed right now was Josh's big mouth ruining things before she even had a chance to continue her investigation properly. Especially since she had Sam on board now and Josh was clueless to their ideas.

* * *

It wasn't long later when CJ came by to meet with Josh.

"Hey, Donna." CJ called as she paced towards her, lavish purple G8 folder and stacks of notes in her arms.

"You need a hand, CJ?" Donna asked, standing up.

"No I'm fine." CJ smiled.

Donna nodded then opened Josh's door and poked her head around it. "CJ's here."

"Thanks, Donna." Josh yelled as CJ walked in and Donna prayed that he would in fact keep quiet about his ridiculous idea to himself and not jeopardise anything for her.

"You know something Josh?" CJ began as she placed her pile of work onto the small space on his desk that was free of clutter.

"What?" he replied coolly.

"I am sick to death of snooping reporters who have nothing better to do than badger you every waking hour." She sighed, collapsing into one of his guest chairs.

"Danny Concannon?" he wondered. Danny's crush on the Press Secretary was no secret around the halls of the White House.

"Of course." She muttered as she picked up her folder off his desk. "I mean he just doesn't get that I am not interested whatsoever!"

"You've just got to tell him the truth. He'll listen to you if…" Josh was stopped in his tracks as he noticed CJ was no longer listening to him and instead grinning at her folder.

"Claudia Jean? You with us?" he joked and she suddenly shut her folder and looked up at him.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly.

"What was that?" he asked with surprise in his voice; CJ was never one to lose focus in casual meetings.

"Oh nothing." She smiled but Josh wasn't convinced.

"Come on, nobody grins like that over this stuff. Not even Sam and he's crazy for G8 prep."

"It's nothing, I'm telling you." She started but Josh leaned over and grabbed the folder from her hands.

"Josh!" she yelled, prying the folder back. As she did so, a couple of small yellow post-it notes drifted out onto the desk. CJ grabbed them before Josh could, but he was convinced he saw the famous cursive of Toby Ziegler on one before she stuffed them into her pocket.

"Toby's sending you notes in your work? He never puts notes in work, I thought he preferred to deface the work with his notes instead, gives him more power." Josh stared at her.

"It was a couple of post-its, okay? Just drop it." She attempted nonchalance but it wasn't lost on him.

"Okaaay." He muttered, "Now what's the deal with these briefing questions?"

* * *

As CJ was leaving, Josh followed her out and remained at Donna's desk hovering.

"Can I help you?" she asked, noticing his presence.

"CJ was acting really weird." He told her, now leaning against the desk.

Donna instantly felt curious. "How so?"

"She was grinning at her folder for ages, and then these post-its from Toby fell on my desk."

'Bingo', Donna thought and deliberately asked with innocence. "What did they say?"

"I don't know, she grabbed them and put them in her pocket before I could see them properly." He shrugged.

"Do you think she was grinning at the notes?" Donna wondered.

"Possibly, but what could Toby have to say that would make her zone out like that?" Josh looked perplexed.

"Who knows?" she replied airily.

"It's still weird." Josh mumbled, walking back into his office.

Seconds later, Sam came striding towards Donna.

"Hi!" he stood beside her desk, shuffling on his feet animatedly. "Guess what?"

"What?" she challenged.

"Toby was in my office just now going over some G8 remarks, and he zoned out. Toby, zoning out! This is unheard of, Donna! So I press a bit, ask him what was up, nothing. But then he gets a phone-call in his office so I peer into the folder and there are all these post-its in CJ's handwriting stuck to his notes!" Sam was fully enthused, eyes bright and a grin on his face.

"Funny you should say that," Donna replied calmly, "CJ was just in with Josh and he experienced a similar situation."

Sam's eyes widened but couldn't respond as the voice of Josh interrupted his thoughts.

"Sammy! You better not be distracting Donna here." He warned.

"I'm not." He defended.

"Good. Oh hey, CJ was in here before and she got all weird when these notes from Toby fell out of her folder. It was strange." Josh told Sam, who tried to act surprised.

"Really? Do you know what they said?" Sam asked, maintaining the surprised façade.

"Nah, but she was grinning so it must've been good. Those two are so odd." Josh rambled.

"Same thing happened with me and Toby. He was so out of character." Sam commented.

Josh's face changed expression suddenly and he motioned to Sam and Donna. "You two, come in here a minute."

* * *

"Do you think something's going on with CJ and Toby?" Josh asked, sitting in his desk chair.

Sam and Donna exchanged nervous glances before Donna coughed.

She hadn't planned to reveal her true suspicions to anyone, not yet anyway. However, she felt that maybe she hadn't given the boys enough credit and this seemed like the time to just reveal her thoughts.

"I think they're living together." she spoke quietly.

"What?!" both Sam and Josh cried incredulously.

"I thought you thought they were dating or sleeping together but not living together?!" Sam almost shouted.

"What?! You two have been conspiring without me?" Josh bellowed.

"Guys, calm down a minute okay!" Donna scolded and the pair were silent.

"Listen okay. You know the other day when I took CJ home?" Josh nodded and Sam looked at her in confusion. "CJ passed out but she had Carol tell people she left early, I took her home at the First Lady's request."

"That was what that was all about then! Wow was she okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, just sleep deprivation I think. Anyway, I went into her apartment with her and it was an absolute mess. Like no one person has that sort of clutter." she shook her head as Josh and Sam's faces remained neutral. "And then when Toby had lost his G8 folder yesterday, I remembered where I'd seen it: among the clutter at CJ's."

"But how does that mean they're living together?" Josh piped up.

"Well, this is the bit I'm not proud of," Donna blushed and the pair gestured for her to continue, "I kind of followed Toby when he went to fetch the folder at lunch, he told me he was going home for it."

"And home was CJ's apartment!" Sam shouted, not really a question.

"Exactly!" Donna threw her arms up; finally the boys were on track.

"Oh my god." Josh murmured, "So they're together?"

"We think so. Toby's had the occasional moment of slight happiness, by his standards anyway." Sam pointed out. "I didn't think anything of it until Donna came to me yesterday evening asking about Toby."

"Did she ask you if he was seeing anyone?" Sam nodded. "Is this why you asked me if CJ was seeing anyone?" Josh turned to Donna and she nodded too.

"It all makes sense now." Sam sat down in the chair opposite Josh but Donna began pacing.

"But if they're living together, they must be pretty serious." Donna spoke up.

"And how could we have missed the signs?" Josh wondered.

"They must be good at hiding things." Sam said.

"Until now." Donna smiled. "This is so weird."

"I wouldn't have put them two together." Josh thought out loud.

"Really?" Sam stared at him. "They're perfect. Toby never lights up the way he does around CJ and she adores him."

Josh gazed at him for several seconds before replying. "You know, you're right."


	3. The Set Up

The trio discussed the idea of CJ and Toby as a couple for several minutes, highly enthusiastic at the thought of their closest friends being an item.

"How can we prove it though? I mean we need to get them to admit to being together." Donna piped up.

"They won't do that unless they're backed into a corner." Sam sighed.

"How can we approach it?" Josh wondered, now immensely feeling the same need for investigation that Donna and Sam had developed.

"I've got an idea…" Sam began and Donna sat beside him, urging him to continue.

"One of us can set CJ up on a date. It's completely innocent because we aren't asking anything of her regarding Toby. She'll probably go on the date to please us, but she'll get out of dating him further and somewhere along the line we can worm it out of her that it's because she's with someone else."

"Perfect!" Josh yelped. "Donna do you know anyone?"

"Hey, all my guys are losers." Josh glared at her and she smiled sweetly. "Not you, Joshua."

"Damn right." He declared; Sam and Donna rolled their eyes in unison.

Sam's eyes lit up in thought. "I think I have a guy."

"Really? Who?" Josh asked him curiously.

"Donna, remember ages ago when I told you about my friend Mark. You guys were going to go out but after explaining him to you, you said he was better suited for CJ?"

"When was this?" Josh wondered.

"Not the point." Sam mentioned. "So what do you think?"

Donna beamed. "Yes! How could I forget? I'm guessing you didn't set him up with CJ back then?"

"Nah, I went to Carol first and she didn't think CJ was interested in seeing anyone." Sam responded with a sigh.

"Actually, when was this?" Josh repeated. "She could've been with Toby then."

"It was well over a year ago. It's a possibility. Wait, would Carol know?" He replied coolly.

"I considered asking her, but she's too loyal to CJ to spill." Donna told them and then paused. "Will it work this time though? They're obviously a lot more serious now."

"Coming from you it would work." Josh decided and Sam nodded in agreement.

"Right then, let's go seek out CJ." She spoke, more to herself than the boys and headed towards the door.

"Now?!" Josh asked incredulously.

"The sooner the better." Sam nodded; the pair grinning as they followed Donna when she paced out determinedly and made for CJ's office.

* * *

"Hey CJ." Donna entered her office as Carol let her in.

"Donna, come on in. How can I help you?" CJ seemed cheerful, which was promising for the upcoming conversation.

"Nothing work related, don't worry." Donna smiled weakly and accepted CJ's invitation to sit.

"So what's up?" CJ wondered, placing her glasses on her desk.

"You're not seeing anyone are you?" CJ paused and shook her head no; 'very crafty', Donna thought.

"It's just there's this guy San wanted to set me up with. He was completely wrong for me, but I thought he'd be perfect for you."

"Really?" she relaxed in her chair, staring at Donna. "What's his name?"

"Mark Wright. He's a lawyer for Gilligan & Davidson and went to law school with Sam."

"Oh I've heard of them, good firm." CJ spoke up and then smirked. "Is he attractive? Please tell me he's tall."

Donna was curious at but also impressed by CJ's brilliant acting ability and answered based on what Sam had told her in their last minute preparations. "Yeah he's gorgeous, and he's about 6ft 3in."

"Brilliant." CJ sat back. "A tall man makes me feel more feminine."

"I figured you guys could go out to dinner or something, you know. I can call him and let him know you're interested?" Donna queried.

CJ nodded with a smile, "Yeah, sure. I think it'll have to be a Saturday though."

"No problem. Oh you'll love him CJ." Donna got up to leave. "See you later."

"Bye, Donna." CJ smiled to herself with a bemused expression, and waited until Donna was out of sight before walking along to Toby's office to share the news with him.

* * *

"Toby, Toby, Toby, darling." CJ breezed into his office and onto one of his guest chairs.

"What do you want?" he asked, leaning back in his seat.

"What makes you think I want something?" she crossed her legs, resisting a smirk at the way his eyes instantly travelled the length of them.

"You called me darling, you don't do that."

"No I don't. I don't want something either." She reassured him.

"Okay then." He sat up and continued to work.

She pouted. "Well I don't want you to ignore me."

"Remarks are waiting." Toby told her, barely looking up.

"I thought I should tell you Donna's setting me up on a date."

"What?" his attention was caught, his expression confused; CJ's lips turned upwards slightly in amusement at his reaction.

"Sam introduced her to this guy, but apparently he's more my type." CJ shrugged and observed the furrow of Toby's brow.

"And you're actually going to go?" he asked with exasperation.

"No, I'm going to walk up to Donna and go 'gee Donna, I can't quite accept that date because I'm living with Toby and we're very much in love, you see'." She deadpanned. "I thought we were going to stay a secret for as long as we could."

He shook his head. "You're right. Go out with the guy, I'm not happy about it though." Toby affirmed.

"Neither am I, sweetie." She smiled at him. "Although it'll be nice to go out with a guy who doesn't shun me for his precious remarks." She teased and got up to leave.

"I've shunned them enough for you already." He chuckled. "Get out of here."

"Fine, I'm leaving." She held up her hands in mock defence and exited the office.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"So how was it?" Josh interrogated instantaneously on Donna's return, Sam at his side.

"She's doing it." Donna grinned. "CJ's an incredible actor; you know I don't think we take enough credit for that."

"How so?" Sam wondered as Josh ushered them into his office and closed the door.

"She was so damn calm when I was asking her if she was seeing anyone and stuff. She's so figured out. I'd crack in an instance if the roles were reversed." Donna sighed.

"CJ's a pro." Josh contended.

"So Sam, get Mark on the phone and make this thing official." Donna pressed excitedly.

"Oh yeah." Sam's eyes widened and smirked. "Do we have any date preferences?"

Donna responded while trying to organise some notes on Josh's desk, much to his dismay. "Dinner on a Saturday evening is all she said."

"Donna…" Josh moaned.

"What?" she replied.

"Stop with the file shuffling, we need to get to the logistics of this date. Sam, get on the phone to Mark." Donna was impressed with Josh's attitude towards their plan, she never had expected him to take it seriously like this.

Sam quickly pulled out his cell and moved to the corner of the room, leaning on the wall with one arm.

"Mark, hey. It's Sam. Look, I know this is random but I have a woman I think you'd really like." he began and listened intently to the other line.

"Yeah. Yeah. CJ Cregg." he turned and smiled towards Josh and Donna. "I was thinking dinner. She's free this Saturday night. Ooh good idea. Thanks, Mark. See ya."

"That was quick." Josh noticed as Sam moved back towards his desk.

"He's eager; he's seen CJ on TV and thinks she's a stunner."

"Who wouldn't?" Josh mused and Donna rolled her eyes as to say 'men', although she secretly agreed that CJ was incredibly beautiful.

"Anyway, we need to plan how we're approaching this." Sam told them, hands clasped in enthusiasm.

Donna ran a hand through her hair, wheels turning in her brain. "Do we tell Mark it's a set up to reveal her relationship with another man?"

"Nah, we can't do that." Josh mentioned. "Plus if anything went wrong, Mark might get vicious and expose CJ and Toby to the press."

"I doubt it, but worst case scenario yeah." Sam muttered back.

"So no on the telling Mark part?" Donna declared and the others nodded in confirmation.

"This is going to be brilliant." Sam sang and laughed as the others shared bemused looks at his tone.

* * *

"So CJ, we hear you have a hot date this weekend!" Josh exclaimed as he bounced into senior staff the next morning.

CJ glared and went to respond but Sam interrupted as he followed Josh.

"You excited? Mark's a real nice guy. You can get all dolled up and everything." he beamed.

"Boys, I'd shut it if I were you." She spoke up from where she was sitting, Toby in silence beside her.

Sam and Josh made sure to observe his reaction as they continued their baiting.

"Oh come on CJ, let us have a little fun. It's not like you have much of a love life these days, none of us do." Josh grinned.

Sam watched Toby's grip on his coffee tighten and smirked to himself before replying. "Exactly, I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we're going to be living vicariously through this development. Right, Toby?"

"Right, Sam." he commented sarcastically.

"Are you jealous, Toby?" Josh dared to ask and Sam and CJ both looked shocked but CJ luckily composed herself before Sam.

"Why would I be jealous, Josh?" he looked up, face neutral. Definitely well played, both Josh and Sam thought.

"That CJ's getting some and you aren't." Toby merely frowned in Josh's direction.

CJ struggled to keep her lips from quirking as she replied. "And who says I'm getting some, Joshua? It's one dinner date."

"But that could lead to another date and another, and then you guys could get together and I'm sure by then you'd be getting some." Sam said gleefully.

"Hold it there, Spanky. I haven't even met the guy yet." she warned and was grateful for Leo's interruption to start the meeting.

* * *

"Did you notice Toby's face when we were questioning CJ?" Josh asked Sam enthusiastically after senior staff as they strode through the West Wing.

"Yes! We've got him right in the workings of jealousy." Sam replied and decided to follow Josh to his office.

"Hi Donna!" They beamed in unison.

"You two are happy," she observed and then it hit her. "Any more developments out in the field?"

They ignored her weird wording of the comment and Sam answered her. "We teased her a bit, raised some questions, I think Toby's trying to control his jealousy."

Donna looked up at the pair with a smile on her face, this was going well. "Yeah?"

"You should've seen them, Donnatella, and this is just the start!" Josh sang and waved off Sam who headed back to his own office.

"Remember Josh, you and Toby are meeting with Congressman Caldwell and Congresswoman Turner on the Hill before lunch." she reminded him, following him into his office after seeing off Sam.

"Yes we are. I'm going to play him a bit, work on progress." Josh told her as he collapsed into his chair.

"Caldwell?" she questioned, handing over a report.

"No, Toby!" he flashed a grin. "I didn't expect this to be so enthralling, Donna. Two of our best friends together! It's so fun."

"Jeez, Josh. You're worse than me about this." She stared at him in disbelief, although still glad he was happy to help her investigate; his input and Sam's was now crucial.

"Love is a wonderful thing you see, Donna." He declared and Donna shook her head as she left him alone in his office.

* * *

Later that morning, Josh paced through the bullpen and into Toby's office.

"You ready?" he asked, shuffling in the doorway.

"Yeah hold on." He gestured to his computer.

"Hi Josh," CJ beamed up from the couch and he jumped back.

"Oh hey there, CJ." He grinned to himself and made a mental note to tell Donna of this little meeting. "Didn't notice you there."

"Gee thanks. I'm off anyway, see you boys." She flashed a wide smile at Toby before patting Josh on the shoulder as she left.

Josh particularly noticed the way that Toby glanced after her, admiring her figure as she walked out.

"Can we go now?" he asked.

"Yeah." Toby grabbed his briefcase and headed out of the bullpen with Josh.

The walk to Capitol Hill was slow, the guys being early for once. Josh decided this time was perfect for teasing Toby about the upcoming date and relished the opportunity.

"So, CJ going on a date…" Josh began.

"Yeah, good for her." Toby sighed back, not meeting Josh's eyes.

"You're not jealous?" he piped up playfully.

"Why would you insinuate that?" Toby finally turned as they continued to walk.

"I don't know, man. I thought you had a thing for each other." He shrugged nonchalantly and enjoyed the scowl that grew on Toby's face.

"Some ridiculous ideas run through your brain, Josh. You know that?" Toby's voice was calm, but he appeared agitated nonetheless.

"Yeah, yeah. So do you think we've got a shot over here?" Josh changed the topic back to their meeting, ideas spinning in his mind about how to approach the subject later on.

* * *

Toby and Josh's meeting went rather well until a few minutes towards the end that considerably improved things on Josh's part.

Congressman Caldwell was taking a call outside, leaving Josh and Toby to talk freely with Congresswoman Turner.

"So Toby, I take it you enjoyed Belatinis last Saturday evening?" she wondered in her friendly tone.

Josh's face changed in bewilderment. "Belatinis? Is that the new Italian place near Dupont Circle?" he asked casually. The thought shouting in his mind was could Congresswoman Turner have seen Toby on a date with CJ?

Toby smiled. "Yeah it was brilliant."

"Who did you go there with?" Josh wondered, a perfectly normal question.

Unfortunately, Congressman Caldwell returned and saved Toby from answering Josh.

"Gentlemen, thank you for your time. I'm sure Congresswoman Turner will agree with me that we'll definitely be taking on board your advice regarding these bill changes." He beamed.

The foursome exchanged farewells and handshakes, Toby and Josh leaving feeling content with the progress.

"Leo's going to be pleased with this." Toby enthused as they walked back towards the White House.

"Definitely. I didn't expect them to be so co-operative." Josh said, surprise in his tone.

"Caldwell knows it's good for him and I think Turner has her own ideas, but it's a step in her direction." Toby explained and Josh was suddenly sick of the meeting talk.

"Yeah. Hey do you fancy lunch in the mess? We'll grab Sam and CJ on the way down?"

"Sure." Toby replied and they made their way to the West Wing in silence.

* * *

On their return, they bumped into Sam almost instantaneously.

"Hey guys, how'd it go?" he beamed, falling into step with them.

"Good, both are on board." Toby told him plainly. "Lunch in the mess with us and CJ, you coming?"

"Yeah, I saw her with Carol and Donna just now. They were discussing her hot date." He laughed and Josh was appreciative for the mention; it reminded him to relate to Sam their talk with Congresswoman Turner.

"Oh we should bring them too!" Josh suggested and Sam's face split into a wide grin.

"Excellent…" Toby grumbled as they approached the three women.

"Hello ladies." Josh said as he sauntered over, "Care to join us fellas in the mess for lunch?"

"Sure, Josh." Donna smiled but Carol politely declined.

CJ shook her head with a lazy smile. "You're being smooth today, Joshua. Good meeting on the hill?" she opened the question to Toby too who was the one to respond.

"They're both on board, appreciative of the advice. Turner may be more hesitant later as the changes aren't in line with her initial ideas but we think she's going to accept it as a step in the right direction regardless."

"She might use it as leverage then?" CJ wondered as the staffers made their way down to the mess.

"Most likely, yeah." Toby replied as he walked beside her.

"Hey Josh, CJ was telling us she went to Belatinis at the weekend. That place is meant to be so nice!" Donna mentioned, and Josh glanced over to CJ and Toby ahead of them with a look of sheer happiness on his face.

"She did huh?" he answered coolly, full of anticipation for the lunch they were heading to.


	4. Date Preparation

Sam, Josh, CJ, Donna and Toby sat around two tables brought together in their favourite quiet corner of the mess, each individual enjoying their respective lunches.

Josh took the opportunity to tell Sam and Donna about his morning meeting while CJ and Toby discussed G8 remarks – all three observing how intimate they were with each other.

"You said CJ went to Belatinis?" he first asked Donna.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Why?"

"Congresswoman Turner saw Toby there on Saturday night, but Caldwell came back from his call before I could ask with whom he'd gone." Josh explained.

"Oh my god, that's so cute taking her out to a posh restaurant like that. I wouldn't have taken him for a romantic." Donna gushed quietly, glad at yet another revelation in their favour.

"Oh and when I went to fetch him for the meeting, she was sitting all relaxed on his couch but you should've seen the way he was checking her out when she left!"

"Seriously, how have we not noticed any of these things before?" Sam wondered in disbelief, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Look at them." Josh said softly; the pair were engrossed in a quiet debate over the ways the new G8 remarks could be construed and the fire in their eyes was all their audience needed.

They then eased off and Donna took the opportunity to raise the topic of CJ's date with Mark the next evening.

"So CJ, did you find a dress for tomorrow night?" she wondered, sipping her water.

"Yeah, I didn't want to be too dressed up so I found this nice deep purple sundress." She smiled.

"Oh that'll look lovely." Donna replied happily and they continued to discuss how CJ would accessorise.

The group was oblivious at that point to the twinge of guilt Toby began to feel: even though they were happy having kept their relationship a secret, CJ hadn't had the opportunity to be this way over it with Donna or her other friends. She seemed so happy about the date and while he knew it was a case of keeping up appearances, a part of him suspected genuine excitement was creeping up on her with all the fuss surrounding it.

"Where's he taking you, CJ?" Josh wondered, repressing the urge to make a comment about Belatinis.

"Apparently it's a surprise." CJ made a point to glare at Donna and Sam, who feigned similar looks of innocence.

"Are you gonna put out?" Josh joked, earning a slap on the hand from Donna.

"Joshua!" she scolded – even though she was curious to see how CJ and Toby would react, it was still out of line.

CJ didn't answer which prompted Toby to speak up.

"Well come on, are you?" he asked nonchalantly, eliciting gaping stares from everyone. He drummed his fingers against the table, watching her and the others began to feel slightly uncomfortable being so close within their radiating chemistry.

CJ's eyes flashed at him playfully, her lips curved into a smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know, Tobus."

* * *

"Oh jeez." Josh muttered once seated in Sam's office after lunch. The lunch had left them feeling awkward but excited and anxious to see how the run-up to CJ's date would continue to affect CJ and Toby.

"I know, can you believe them? Exchanging all those smouldering looks and you know, the blatant flirting?" Sam added, filing through a folder of notes.

Josh sighed as he handed Sam some papers from his briefcase. "They don't know we know though, so they won't even consider it blatant."

"Imagine if Donna hadn't brought this up? I mean how long do you think it would've taken us to figure it out?" he replied.

"There have been some obvious signs since, what with the restaurant and all." Sam reminded him, a smile on his face.

"They wouldn't have been so obvious if we didn't have all this though." Josh gestured as if the information was surrounding them.

"I just can't wait to see how Toby's going to end up reacting to the date." Sam grinned smugly.

"Oh, me too." Josh agreed enthusiastically before they began working on further G8 preparations.

* * *

The afternoon saw the group spend several hours working alongside Leo and the President on the G8 summit which was only a couple of weeks away. Nothing was mentioned in relation to CJ's date, for which she was thankful, but the topic still played on everybody's minds – especially Toby's.

That night the pair headed home after the President had practically ordered everyone to get some rest; they were planning to work over the weekend too to ensure maximum productivity on the latest round of work.

CJ rushed into the apartment almost immediately after Toby had opened the door; collapsing on the couch while he unpacked their Chinese takeout and found bottles of accompanying beer.

"This stuff's going to kill me." She moaned between bites of Kung Pao chicken.

Toby took a swig of his beer and settled back in his spot beside her, "I know, the President's still so determined to change the wording of the economic responses. These leaders are pernickety, how he words those speeches is vital! So much as one sentence out of line could cause someone to go into an uproar! Remember last year when the Prime Minister got baited for his phrasing of the environmental comment? That was casual but this is for a serious commerce speech. I wish he'd listen to me and Sam on this one. He's driving me up the wall." He had grown agitated, gesticulating at her ferociously as his voice grew in irritation.

"Toby, honey, let's calm down and forget about work." She soothed teasingly, observing as he downed his beer and picked up chopsticks. He opted to grab some chicken out of her box as opposed to his half empty one on the table.

"You know that's impossible." He replied sarcastically and CJ nudged him along the couch so that she could lay down with her head on his lap, her food now abandoned.

"Are you excited for your date then?" he asked her, and chuckled when she groaned at him momentarily placing his box of take out on her head.

"It'll be nice," she murmured as he stroked her hair absentmindedly.

"Yeah well you're going to have that guy right in the palm of your hand." He moaned and CJ was surprised at his voice.

She turned so her face was looking up at him. "You're bothered by this aren't you?"

"No, CJ. I'm completely fine with my girlfriend going out on a date with a supposedly hot lawyer." Toby sounded completely wound up as he looked down at her.

"You're a hot lawyer." She smiled and his face barely softened.

"I still can cancel on him you know." She continued as he didn't respond.

"No, Donna went through the trouble." He replied.

CJ shifted her body so she was staring up at the ceiling again. "You know you have absolutely nothing to worry about, don't you? I'm in love with you and only you and one petty little date for Donna's sake won't change a thing. I don't care if he's hot or smart or funny because he's not you."

"Sometimes I wish I could just show you off to the world as being mine." Toby shrugged, caressing her face gently.

"You and me both." She sat up and kissed him on the mouth before resuming her position.

* * *

The next day – CJ's date day – rolled around and the senior staffers found themselves enjoying their Saturday in the West Wing.

"So CJ, the day has finally arrived!" Josh sang as he entered the Roosevelt Room where the group were meeting.

"Yes it has, Joshua. You guys are far too interested in my love life."

Josh smirked with a hint of 'if only you knew' that was shared by both Sam and Donna.

Donna, who was sitting making notes, watched as Toby made an effort to ignore the conversation CJ and Josh were then having over her date.

"Toby, do you want to come over and watch the game with me and Josh tonight?" Sam wondered as he paused from scribbling on a report.

"How do you know I don't have plans tonight?" Toby looked at him across the table.

Josh and Donna exchanged amused glances as Sam replied. "Well do you?"

"No." he replied curtly.

"Then come over, game starts at 8." Josh piped up.

Toby sighed. "Sure, I'll bring beer."

* * *

The rest of the day went smoothly, G8 prep flowing and Toby even convincing the President to ease back with his commerce speech. By 6 o'clock, CJ remained with the others despite Sam and Josh's urging her to go home and prepare herself for the date.

"Shouldn't you be going?" Donna asked her curiously while the guys talked across the room.

"Date's not until 7:30." CJ shrugged. "It's been so long since I've been on a date; I don't know how long I should be giving myself."

Donna knew that deep down she probably didn't care how she looked for Mark, Toby being the only object of her affection, but found it strange that she was reluctant to leave.

Toby caught CJ's eyes from across the room, narrowing his own suspiciously. "You not going home to get ready yet?"

"Jeez, everyone wants me rushing off don't they?" she exclaimed. "Toby can I speak to you in my office before I go?"

He nodded and followed her out, leaving the other three grinning like Cheshire cats.

CJ and Toby reached her office and she shut the door behind him before pulling him into a deep, sultry kiss. He pushed her against the wall in response, moaning as their bodies met and their arms wrapped around each other passionately. Both breathless as they pulled away minutes later, CJ rested her forehead on his.

"Remember, Ziegler. No one but you." She whispered against his lips.

"You're far too cutesy sometimes." He smirked back at her.

"Don't get up to too much trouble with the boys." She warned as she moved out of his arms to reach for her coat off the stand.

"I won't." he muttered and then pulled her into his arms again, lips quirked as he read her face. "And you behave yourself too. I don't want you out too late, got it?"

"Yes, Pokey." She hummed before kissing him again, arms winding around his neck.

"You're gonna be late if you don't go now." He reminded her and pulled out of her grip, opening the door and leading them out.

CJ headed out to exit the White House and Toby returned to the Roosevelt Room, both with a grin plastered across their face; he made sure of its absence as he walked back in.

"CJ left." He told them and sat back down, luckily for him, without question.

* * *

CJ quickly drove home to get ready for her date, a part of her slightly excited about it. Even though she was guilty over Toby's expressed displeasure about her being out with another man, it was only for appearances sake and at least she was getting a nice meal out of it.

She showered before changing into the new purple sundress. Hair tied in a loose knot, tendrils framing her face; minimal make-up save for the dark grey eyeshadow upon her lids and thick lashings of mascara.

A spray of perfume and a pair of sandals later, CJ grabbed her cell phone and purse and headed out.

The drive to the restaurant of which Donna had given her the address was quick; this mostly being down to how she wanted to call Toby before she headed in to meet Mark. As she parked in the parking lot nearby, she checked her watch and found she was 10 minutes early. That being the case, she pulled out her phone and dialled Toby's number.

"Hello." He answered plainly.

"It's me."

"You not there yet?"

"I'm in the car outside."

"Why?"

"I wanted to call you."

"I saw you an hour ago."

"So I need a reason to call now?"

"No, but there is one."

CJ didn't have the energy to oppose. "Ugh, you know me too well you know that?"

"I do. What's up?"

"Hold on, are you with the others?"

"I'm walking to my car."

"Okay."

"So what's up?"

"I'm scared. I know I shouldn't be because it's not a real date…"

"But you like people to like you."

"Exactly."

"And you're scared he won't? Although his opinion doesn't matter?"

"Yes."

"Don't be, you're amazing. One of the things getting me through this is the idea that he may completely fall in love with you on this date but there's nothing he can do about it."

She could hear the smugness through the phone and felt her stomach sink with butterflies just the tiniest bit.

"I better go in now. I love you."

"Good luck, I love you too."

* * *

While CJ and Toby were absent, Josh decided to do what he'd thought all day would be one of the best plans of action for the night.

"Donna, you fancy coming to Sam's too?" he wondered.

"If Sam doesn't mind me being there…" she answered anxiously, seeking a sign of approval.

"Of course, Donna! I was going to ask you anyway, we need you with us to observe Toby. Tonight of all nights especially!" Sam beamed back.

"Yeah, thanks. I was worried you boys would screw it up without me." She chuckled.

"Jeez, thanks for the vote of the confidence." Sam mumbled.

"No Sammy, she's probably right." Josh ignored Donna's smug grin. "He's going to be extra on edge tonight, right? She'll be perfect picking up all the little signs, even though I imagine he'll give us a lot to work with anyway."

"Exactly." Donna agreed.

"I've never been this excited for a football game in a long time." Sam declared. "And who knew it would be because of Toby?"

"I hear ya." Donna said before their subject walked back in.

"CJ left." He told them and sat down, instantly writing again.

The group worked for a while before Toby began packing up his things. "I'm heading off, I'll be over for 8." he spoke up and they watched as he left the room.

"Right, so we'll come by at 7:45." Donna told Sam, motioning to Josh who was engrossed in his reading.

"Will we?" Josh asked, not looking up.

"Yes, last minute prep." She told the pair before standing up. "I'm gonna get going too, see you soon."

Donna walked out of the West Wing, having already collected her belongings, and observed Toby on the phone. She increased her pace in order to hear his words, knowing it would be CJ on the other line.

She found herself hearing him mutter as he walked along. "Don't be, you're amazing. One of the things getting me through this is the idea that he may completely fall in love with you on this date but there's nothing he can do about it."

Donna grinned to herself: she'd heard an exclamation of Toby's feelings on the date before it had even occurred and this quote could be used as perfect ammunition later, be it with Toby or to relate to the guys.

A sudden speaking of "Good luck, I love you too," snapped her out of her thoughts and she quickly dashed to her car in hope that Toby hadn't heard her eavesdropping. Everything was in place for the night.


	5. Date Night

Donna arrived at Sam's early with bags of food and was impressed to find Josh was earlier still.

"Hey Donna! Excited?" Josh buzzed after Sam had guided her to the kitchen.

"Yes, Joshua." She muttered, shaking her head slightly in disbelief at his enthusiasm.

"So, CJ will be there now and Toby will soon be here all agitated because his girlfriend has a hot date." Sam almost sang. "Are we mean people?"

"Not at all." Josh said with a smile.

"We need this. No, deserve this." Donna added. "They shouldn't have kept their relationship a secret from us."

"True." Sam agreed.

They made their way into the living room and sat down for final discussions.

"We're going to start off with infrequent mentions about the date. You know, get him going." Josh told Donna.

"Right, in that case…" she pondered momentarily. "I'll suggest that maybe CJ was reluctant to go on the date and see how his reaction is."

"Excellent!" Sam piped up; Donna had to admit she was rather happy with the way her plan was continually received.

"Reckon you'll get much out of him?" Josh wondered.

"Toby won't be as hard to crack as you may think." She said pointedly.

"Yeah?" The guys asked in unison to which she merely nodded.

"I heard him on the phone to her before."

"Saying what?" Sam asked.

"One of the things getting me through this is the idea that he may completely fall in love with you on this date but there's nothing he can do about it." Donna quoted with a grin.

"Oh man, that's real ammunition right there." Josh commented.

"I know, we can't pull out big guns like that yet though," added Sam.

"I think it's so cute." She gushed, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Toby's here!" Sam exclaimed and the trio exchanged excited grins.

* * *

CJ walked nervously into the restaurant and observed the surroundings to seek out her date. Luckily, a guy stood up with a grin as he noticed her, so she assumed she had placed Mark.

"Hi, CJ?" he graciously smiled as she walked to the table.

"Hey, Mark. Nice to meet you." She replied as she sat across from him.

"Sam's told me a lot about you." He said and she took a moment to take in his appearance: definitely handsome, but in her eyes no match for the brooding looks of Toby.

"Likewise." She said softly and glanced around the restaurant, "this place is lovely."

"I know," Mark replied and handed her a menu.

They ordered food and a shared bottle of wine - CJ choosing a chicken dish while Mark opted for the lasagne.

One thing she had been worried about was excruciating small talk, but fortunately Mark was quite the conversationalist.

"I bet you don't really see much of the outside of the White House." He had started and she inwardly groaned initially, but he then continued, "I mean there's all these people out there, right? They're like "oh my god the President lives here" but they don't realise how much of the workings of the US government goes on behind those immaculate white walls."

She chuckled slightly between sips of wine. "No, not really. I think people aren't as dumb as they're given credit for. Yes, we have politically apathetic people in this country but not everyone's completely oblivious. Besides, DC is a tourist city for thousands every day, of course not everyone's going to be aware of the political machinery that goes on. Hell, I don't think I realised just how much gets done in the White House before I started working there."

"You're only saying that so I'll vote for Bartlet next election." He smirked.

"I am not." She contended with a grin.

"Please, you're practically throwing propaganda at me."

"Yeah, you don't want me in political propaganda mode," CJ laughed, "I have to be pretty neutral on a day to day basis for the press, but I'll give the boys a hard time when I'm passionate about something and it could be completely indoctrinating to someone who isn't as clued up as they are."

"The boys?" he questioned.

"Sam, Josh, Toby. Even Leo."

"Right," Mark nodded, "How did you get onto the campaign in the first place?"

CJ, about to tell the story of Toby bringing her on, gulped the rest of her wine because she knew a story based around him would be hard to remain dispassionate through.

* * *

"Toby! Hey!" Sam opened the door to reveal Toby standing holding a crate of beer. "Planning to get drunk tonight?"

"No Sam, I thought we could build with them," he deadpanned as he walked in.

"Hey, Toby," Josh and Donna smiled in unison and he nodded before going to the kitchen to place the beer in Sam's fridge.

"So CJ should be on her date now, right?" Josh called through to Sam, who was preparing snacks in the kitchen where Toby stood.

"Yeah," he yelled back, subtly trying to observe the deepening frown on Toby's face; he really wasn't doing a good job of concealing his displeasure.

Toby padded into the living room to join Josh and Donna, Sam close behind, and sat in a chair across from them on the sofa.

"Are we watching the game then?" he asked, noticing the blank TV screen.

"Oh yeah, sure." Josh turned on the TV with the remote next to him, the game close to starting.

Sam observed Toby take a swig of his beer, and nodded towards Donna with a smile; she was going to be spending the duration of the game watching his mannerisms, how often he would look at his watch etc. as the night continued to bother him.

"I've known Toby Ziegler for years and years," CJ began with a smile, "we worked on campaigns together in New York and Chicago and LA - everywhere really."

"I didn't realise you'd known him for so long, you weren't all just thrown in together unknowingly then?"

"No, no. Leo brought in Toby who brought me and then Josh who brought Sam."

"So you knew Toby…" Mark pondered and gestured for her to continue.

"A long time and he was, well still is, my best friend, even though at the time I'd moved out to LA and he was on the east coast." She paused for a sip of wine, "One day I got fired from Triton-Day, a PR firm, and came home practically blind. I'd lost my glasses so I was stumbling around my back yard and I knew someone was there. I was freaked out but it turned out to Toby so I calmed down, but then I fell in my pool."

Mark began to laugh, earning a mock scowl.

"He eventually asked me, when on dry land so to speak, to work for the Bartlet campaign because Leo liked my Emily's List efforts and because you'll find no bigger fan of my work than Toby. I flew out with him to New Hampshire the next day and 3 years later here we are."

"And you're incredibly happy in the administration?"

"Watch it, you're turning into a reporter. But yeah, so much." CJ grinned.

* * *

The game had been on for about a quarter of an hour and so far, Toby had remained relatively normal but Donna was eager to start subtle hints and inquisitions.

"Sam, we have set CJ up with the right guy haven't we?" she spoke up innocently.

Sam turned to her, Josh remaining surprisingly neutral between them. "Mark's a great guy. Why, are you worried?"

"No, you're right he does seem like a great guy but you know it's CJ and we can't have her settling for second best."

Toby's eyes flicked upwards from the screen at these words, immediately wondering if they would consider him the best choice as her boyfriend, not that it really mattered.

"Oh, exactly," Sam agreed with a smile.

They left their comments for a while as to maintain a lack of suspicion, watching the game and both Toby's behaviour which unfortunately continued to remain peaceful and unaffected.

* * *

"So you told me how you got started with Bartlet, what have been the highlights?"

"The highlights?" CJ repeated to Mark.

"Yeah, the high points so far."

"Oh. Well getting elected definitely." She smiled at him. "The campaign itself was incredible," she continued, choosing to miss out the part about all the sex with Toby across the different states once his divorce had finalised.

"How about since getting elected?"

"Mendoza." CJ beamed.

"That was an impressive feat."

"Of course, if people knew the amount of sleepless nights Ziegler had over that one."

She chuckled; remembering first-hand how many nights he had been awake lying beside her or pacing one of their bedrooms trying, and failing, not to wake her up.

"I can imagine. The whole lot of you though, great work." Mark said compassionately.

"Thanks." She replied. "Tell me about you then, what's your life like?"

* * *

Sam and Josh went into the kitchen, leaving Donna alone with Toby and the perfect opportunity for probing.

"I don't know if she mentioned anything to you but I got the impression that CJ was reluctant to go on this date." She related to him.

Toby looked at her. "Really? She seemed pretty excited to me."

"I think she was, but there was definitely an air of hesitance." Donna explained.

"How so?" He enquired.

"CJ isn't really one to date, and it was rather out of the blue."

She could see him ruminating over how to compose his response as he scratched his beard. "No she doesn't tend to date these days."

"So what do you think?" Donna pressed.

"Would CJ have been reluctant?"

"Yeah."

"I honestly can't say." Toby told her with a wave of his hand. She realised that maybe she had underestimated his ability to remain calm about this.

Sam returned into the living room with Josh close behind.

"Did Donna ask you if CJ was reluctant to go on the date, Toby?" Josh asked and Donna was about to scold him with her eyes until she realised they must have been doing some planning of their own.

"Yeah." Toby replied simply.

"I think she was right." Josh exclaimed but received only a glare so continued. "She hasn't been out with anyone recently, so maybe she was worried about how to be around him or whatever. Especially as it's a set-up."

Donna and Sam both wore similar proud grins as Toby went slightly cold in expression. "Did she say that to you?"

"No, no. Just my intuition."

"Mine, actually." Sam piped up.

"You set it up, Sam." Toby reminded him.

"So, he might be right." He contented.

"I don't know why she would worry about anything like that." Toby muttered rather quietly. "She's a great people person, he'll love her unless he has some sort of issue."

Josh glanced with raised eyebrows at Donna at his admission. They were really getting an insight into the way Toby saw CJ and it was rather sweet how he was being subtly emotive.

Sam was the one to reply: "You're right, CJ's going to have him captivated."

Surprised at the remark and on his part, suggestive delivery, Donna agreed with a nod but Josh chose a verbal agreement.

"I mean I don't know about you guys, but a date with CJ would definitely enchant me."

Both Sam and Donna smirked as Toby scowled; Josh suddenly became afraid.

"Don't tell her I said that by the way." He mumbled nervously realising that Toby didn't receive people talking about the woman he was with very well. Sam had learned that the hard way when Andi was still around.

"I won't, Josh." He said although the others knew it would most likely be a topic discussed between them that night.

* * *

"6 sisters? That must have been fun for you." CJ laughed as Mark recounted childhood anecdotes.

"They adored me, what can I say?" Mark shrugged light-heartedly.

"I had 2 brothers and that was enough for the opposite gender for me." She stated,

"You seem to be comfortable around men now though, working with them all the time." He contested.

"I've grown to realise I get on better with men than women, in most cases anyway."

"Romantically too?" Mark said, teasingly.

"Yeah, I mean I…" she stopped when she realised she couldn't talk about Toby. Why had this become so hard? Had she always felt the need to talk about him constantly to others? "…I've been lucky and I've been unlucky."

"Me too. I had one long relationship out of college but she left me for my cousin." He explained.

"Oh wow, ouch." CJ replied. "My break-ups have never been that bad. I drove a boyfriend's Porsche into a lake once."

Mark began to laugh, "Lost him then?"

"Yeah." She giggled.

"What's your best relationship been then?" he asked her and she really stopped in her tracks this time.

* * *

"I wonder what being on a date with CJ is like though." Josh thought out loud an hour later, a beer away from drunk and bored of the game.

"Still on this, Josh?" Toby spoke up, his voice agitated.

"Look, I'm just curious." He defended.

"You've known CJ forever, what's she like on a date?" Sam wondered innocently and Donna began to wonder if they were coming on too strong.

"The two aren't automatically correlated."

"So you don't know?" Josh pressed.

"I never said that." he said with a slight smile into his beard and the other three exchanged glances of similar bemusement.

"What?" Sam asked, shocked.

"Toby's known her for years, obviously they've had many dinners together. Right, Toby?" Donna commented innocently, as not to rouse suspicion.

"Right, Donna." He responded calmly.

Josh and Sam excused themselves again, which left her the chance to question him properly.

"You're a little unhappy about the date aren't you?" she pondered.

"Why would you suggest that?" he asked, eyes on the TV.

"You're not snapping, which suggests you're trying to put your focus into something other than thinking about something else."

"And the something else is CJ on a date?"

"You tell me."

"Donna," he sighed. "I don't know what you know, but unhappy isn't the right adjective."

"Okay..." She replied quietly, internally ecstatic with the Ziegler equivalent of a confession.

* * *

CJ's date was drawing to a close and Mark suggested he drive her home.

"I brought my own car." She told him.

"Come on, you can pick it up tomorrow." He said softly and she couldn't quite refuse his accompanying smile.

"Okay."

They drove back to her apartment in silence, until he pulled up at where she had directed. No games, her and Toby's place.

"I had a really good time tonight," he told her as they stepped out of the car and he began to walk her up the steps to her apartment.

"Me too," she replied happily.

"We can do this again?"

"Perhaps." She said, not wanting to let him down but knowing it wasn't inevitable.

Mark suddenly leaned in to kiss her: his hands on her back and mouth soft on hers. She responded quite passionately, though initially shocked.

Neither of them noticed Toby stepping out of his car onto the sidewalk. Nor did they see Donna's parked car a little way down the street filled with the three shocked faces of Josh, Donna and Sam at this occasion.

Once Toby had announced he was going home, the trio had waited minutes before jumping into Donna's car to follow him, eager to see if something could trigger a desired reaction. This, however, was not quite was they had anticipated.

CJ pulled away from Mark, letting go of his jacket lapels, and noticed Toby stood at the bottom of the steps and groaned. Mark was unaware until Toby spoke up.

"Hi, CJ. How was your date?" he asked anxiously.

"I'm sorry, am I in the middle of something here?" Mark wondered.

"No, no." Toby assured him, "So, CJ?"

"It was nice." She said hesitantly, worried at how she couldn't predict Toby's mood.

Mark observed Toby's face. "Are you sure, man?"

"I'm just a friend." Toby told him, and CJ could sense the cold in his voice.

"I think you should leave." She announced to Mark quietly, who nodded in response.

"It was lovely to meet you CJ, I'll have Sam give you my number." He waved as he left and Toby and CJ were left alone.

* * *

"I guess the date was wonderful if you're making out with the guy on our front steps." Toby muttered, running a hand over his head in exasperation.

"Toby, it's not how it looked. It was for appearances sake." She defended.

"I really hope you're telling me the truth." CJ was shocked at the way his voice conveyed so much sorrow as opposed to anger.

"God, I am." She murmured and wrapped her arms around his waist, looking into his eyes.

"Good." He replied, and kissed her forehead gently, only to be broken out of the moment by Mark.

"What the hell? You told me I wasn't in the middle of something. You could've waited until I drove off!"

"Oh god." CJ and Donna unknowingly muttered in unison; Toby began to fume while Josh and Sam became incredibly animated.

"Look, Mark…" CJ began, "this was a set-up."

"But you're with someone?" Mark started in frustration but then stopped, calmer.

"They," he gestured towards where he had noticed Donna's car parked, "don't know?"

"What?" Toby asked in confusion but then noticed the three staring faces. "Shit, CJ."


End file.
